[He laughs again, with a bit of a snort. He's hardly as scientific as all that. A research assistant. And up to this point, what has his research consisted of? Following a monster hunter on his insane excursions?
There's a bit of a method to that.
Jaskier raises a brow.] Where do you intend on researching such things? You're not intending on spending the next week in the academy's libraries, are you? And here I was ready to take it all with a healthy dose of risk.
First, by following up with Himeka and also Wanda, in case she had any perspective to give. Then going to the museums and asking about objects that might be in storage. Then actually sitting down with you and figuring out where this is going to happen and when.
Jaskier purses his lips, but to be fair, he doesn't have much objection to it. He doesn't know Wanda well and finds her rather standoffish, but Himeka he fully trusts, and he has some indication they know each other. Honestly, he trusts Himeka would very much like to keep Jaskier alive.]
Very well. I'll give you the time you need before I do anything dashing and possibly insanely dangerous. See? I've being very reasonable about all of this.
Oh. [All right, he can't stop the surprise that crosses his face. It's... it's rather nice for it to be acknowledged.] Well, yes. I do appreciate the fact you very much want me alive, after all.
[He's not going anywhere. Hopefully.]
Two, actually. [He raises one finger as he lists them:] Vimorskas, for one. A deity that Himeka has already made some sort of contact with. My information is limited, but I have some trust Himeka well enough when she says she has had positive interactions with them. A safe enough start, as a deity of nature. Considering my ability to grow and encourage flora, I feel we have some shared interests.
The second: you've surely heard my song about Lyfbringr. The tales I've heard come straight from the Solvunnites themselves. A patron saint of bountiful harvests, life, and love. Honestly, if we're being less than objective, I already feel a bit of a... connection. Perhaps they have even heard my song. I would like to think it's a good first impression.
[The dry humor is an attempt to cover up something much more real and raw, something Alucard doesn't want to delve into fully at the moment.
He considers both options. Alucard isn't surprised his friend wants to talk to a subject of a greatest hit, but it is a level of ego that somehow surprises the dhampir. Truly, it knows no bounds.
There's probably an easy way to do this.]
Perhaps it would be easiest to start with Vimorskas. With Himeka already having made contact, there is an easy route to get there and the promise of safety along with common ground. A known quantity to be sure, and you could perhaps ask about the Lyfbringr as well and get a god-to-god sense of him. Plus we could meet with Himeka in the Horizon and ask her to show us the steps.
Ah, yes, I believe picking the one less likely to turn me into a newt or something is the better choice. Even if it appears they don't really speak. Vimorskas, at least. [From what he's garnered from Himeka and his own studies.
A bit annoying Thorne was so devoid of information. Honestly, he truly would not mind a trip to Solvunn simply for access to their potential research materials. If they... well, if they even have libraries.
He's seen a bit of it, and even compared to Thorne, Solvunn can be comfortably called old-fashioned. Outdated, even.] You can't be thinking the gods will gossip about each other? [He pauses.] To be fair, that would be extremely fun.
[The look Jaskier returns to him is level, and also a bit surprised. Amused. Alucard, he should think, would be the last one to give any credence to any religious order.
Of course there are plenty of tales. But there is pa reason most on the Continent now ascribe to Melitele. For what else is there? The zealotry of the White Flame? The elves' old, long-forgotten gods? Even the monoliths were created by dwarves, not shaped by divine purpose. ]
The gods are hardly real, Alucard. Not as far as I can tell. There's plenty to believe and trust in, but I've yet to see any myself. There's monsters, prophecies -- true ones, even! -- and ghosts, and separate spheres and planes of existence. And yet the safest things to trust in are myself and my muses. As much as I once subscribed to the idea of Destiny... I don't know. It's much harder to hold onto now. And to recall the horrors I have seen -- I do not like to imagine they were decided upon long ago.
...I rather meant stories of them, but I take your point.
[It is a very practical sort of approach that Jaskier's articulated One Alucard can respect, and it explains some of the undercurrents of the bard's attempts to reach out to the supposed divine here.]
Sypha's people can send information from the future back to the past through methods I don't quite understand. I would never call that Destiny, but it's as close to the concept as I'm comfortable with. There's a lot to be said for one's own sense of certainty and choice above all other things.
Oh. [He brightens.] Well, obviously! But I thought you were being literal. Look, after my last trip to Solvunn, one cannot be too sure anymore.
[And the cultists he once accidentally stumbled upon on the Continent also spring to mind. That was a very awkward day for him. There are certainly influences of the beings the people here believe to be gods -- Adelwyrd is still a very heavy topic with him -- but he cannot imagine them as something more than creatures who have twisted chaos in ways that are extremely powerful. Perhaps near-incomprehensible.]
That is... utterly bizarre. Though I suppose that's just a prophecy with more words. And, like you, I prefer thinking of the free will of man more than what cosmic powers choose for us.
Even if they sometimes definitely choose. With a certain sense of humour.
That's a fair point. Your theory that the gods here are just older Summoned makes a number of aspects of them easier to deal with, in my opinion.
[Everyone's just human, in the end. Or at least, they were.]
In one case, I think it is just Sypha making sure we all meet each other at the right time. [All the warmth is gone at the last comment, and the dhampir lets out a soft snort.]
Destiny isn't real, until it feels like being a jester. That sounds about right.
Decidedly. For one, humans can be reasoned with. [For the most part. And if they cannot be reasoned with, they can at least be understood. And understanding people of all walks of life is Jaskier's greatest skill, if you asked him.
He doesn't see why that should be different with human... gods.
The Singularity, as the fae warned him, is different. It actually does feel incomprehensible. It is not human. An alien, sentient thing, that seems to directly control them.
So. The first step should be the simpler one.]
Well. They call Destiny a bitch for a reason. Not that I would ever lower myself to such vulgar language.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cointosser) wrote2021-04-12 08:58 pm
no subject
There's a bit of a method to that.
Jaskier raises a brow.] Where do you intend on researching such things? You're not intending on spending the next week in the academy's libraries, are you? And here I was ready to take it all with a healthy dose of risk.
no subject
First, by following up with Himeka and also Wanda, in case she had any perspective to give. Then going to the museums and asking about objects that might be in storage. Then actually sitting down with you and figuring out where this is going to happen and when.
no subject
Jaskier purses his lips, but to be fair, he doesn't have much objection to it. He doesn't know Wanda well and finds her rather standoffish, but Himeka he fully trusts, and he has some indication they know each other. Honestly, he trusts Himeka would very much like to keep Jaskier alive.]
Very well. I'll give you the time you need before I do anything dashing and possibly insanely dangerous. See? I've being very reasonable about all of this.
no subject
[Look Jaskier with Gideon gone, you're all he's got.]
Did you have a deity in mind for this?
no subject
[He's not going anywhere. Hopefully.]
Two, actually. [He raises one finger as he lists them:] Vimorskas, for one. A deity that Himeka has already made some sort of contact with. My information is limited, but I have some trust Himeka well enough when she says she has had positive interactions with them. A safe enough start, as a deity of nature. Considering my ability to grow and encourage flora, I feel we have some shared interests.
The second: you've surely heard my song about Lyfbringr. The tales I've heard come straight from the Solvunnites themselves. A patron saint of bountiful harvests, life, and love. Honestly, if we're being less than objective, I already feel a bit of a... connection. Perhaps they have even heard my song. I would like to think it's a good first impression.
no subject
[The dry humor is an attempt to cover up something much more real and raw, something Alucard doesn't want to delve into fully at the moment.
He considers both options. Alucard isn't surprised his friend wants to talk to a subject of a greatest hit, but it is a level of ego that somehow surprises the dhampir. Truly, it knows no bounds.
There's probably an easy way to do this.]
Perhaps it would be easiest to start with Vimorskas. With Himeka already having made contact, there is an easy route to get there and the promise of safety along with common ground. A known quantity to be sure, and you could perhaps ask about the Lyfbringr as well and get a god-to-god sense of him. Plus we could meet with Himeka in the Horizon and ask her to show us the steps.
no subject
Ah, yes, I believe picking the one less likely to turn me into a newt or something is the better choice. Even if it appears they don't really speak. Vimorskas, at least. [From what he's garnered from Himeka and his own studies.
A bit annoying Thorne was so devoid of information. Honestly, he truly would not mind a trip to Solvunn simply for access to their potential research materials. If they... well, if they even have libraries.
He's seen a bit of it, and even compared to Thorne, Solvunn can be comfortably called old-fashioned. Outdated, even.] You can't be thinking the gods will gossip about each other? [He pauses.] To be fair, that would be extremely fun.
no subject
Good, we're in agreement about the workflow.
[They're gonna just hang out with plants. Even Alucard can live with that without having a heart attack.
The question causes Alucard's eyebrows to lift slowly.]
Do...gods in your world not have petty rivalries, jealousies, and act a little over the top to the point of pulling mortals into their lives?
no subject
Of course there are plenty of tales. But there is pa reason most on the Continent now ascribe to Melitele. For what else is there? The zealotry of the White Flame? The elves' old, long-forgotten gods? Even the monoliths were created by dwarves, not shaped by divine purpose. ]
The gods are hardly real, Alucard. Not as far as I can tell. There's plenty to believe and trust in, but I've yet to see any myself. There's monsters, prophecies -- true ones, even! -- and ghosts, and separate spheres and planes of existence. And yet the safest things to trust in are myself and my muses. As much as I once subscribed to the idea of Destiny... I don't know. It's much harder to hold onto now. And to recall the horrors I have seen -- I do not like to imagine they were decided upon long ago.
no subject
[It is a very practical sort of approach that Jaskier's articulated One Alucard can respect, and it explains some of the undercurrents of the bard's attempts to reach out to the supposed divine here.]
Sypha's people can send information from the future back to the past through methods I don't quite understand. I would never call that Destiny, but it's as close to the concept as I'm comfortable with. There's a lot to be said for one's own sense of certainty and choice above all other things.
no subject
[And the cultists he once accidentally stumbled upon on the Continent also spring to mind. That was a very awkward day for him. There are certainly influences of the beings the people here believe to be gods -- Adelwyrd is still a very heavy topic with him -- but he cannot imagine them as something more than creatures who have twisted chaos in ways that are extremely powerful. Perhaps near-incomprehensible.]
That is... utterly bizarre. Though I suppose that's just a prophecy with more words. And, like you, I prefer thinking of the free will of man more than what cosmic powers choose for us.
Even if they sometimes definitely choose. With a certain sense of humour.
no subject
[Everyone's just human, in the end. Or at least, they were.]
In one case, I think it is just Sypha making sure we all meet each other at the right time. [All the warmth is gone at the last comment, and the dhampir lets out a soft snort.]
Destiny isn't real, until it feels like being a jester. That sounds about right.
no subject
He doesn't see why that should be different with human... gods.
The Singularity, as the fae warned him, is different. It actually does feel incomprehensible. It is not human. An alien, sentient thing, that seems to directly control them.
So. The first step should be the simpler one.]
Well. They call Destiny a bitch for a reason. Not that I would ever lower myself to such vulgar language.
I think we can wrap this?
[Alucard sighs, and he finally stands up from his seat of Judgement and Rolling. His destination is the kitchen, based on his lazy gait towards it.]
No, of course not. I have some remaining chicken and lemons, do you want to eat while we discuss?